Moron!
by emichii
Summary: "Don't you see? You just don't get it! The one I love is you!" What can you do when the person you love never sees it or notices?
1. You don't get it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach!! Bleach belongs to Kubo-sensei!

Moron!!

**Chapter One: You don't get it**

"Hey!! Toushirou!!"

The voice came in from the front hallway. Hitsugaya knew who it was without looking up, but he looked up anyway.

He was sitting on a couch at Orihime's place and there was a stack of paperwork spread out all over the coffee table in front of him.

Karin walked into the living room.

"Karin, what are you doing here?" He asked with a frown.

Karin pulled a face at the snowy-haired shinigami. "Gee, I came all this way and you're not even gonna say hi?"

She grinned and held out a plastic bag. "I just came to see ya, Toushirou! I brought you some breakfast. I figured you'd be starving, you know, with Orihime's cooking and all."

Hitsugaya took the bag and said, "Thanks."

Karin sat down next to him with a grin on her face.

She looked over at the paperwork all over the table. She frowned and jumped to her feet. "Let's go outside!!"

Hitsugaya was chewing furiously on a piece of bread. "What?? Why? I've got to do all this work!!"

Karin scowled and grabbed Hitsugaya's arm to pull him from the couch. "Come on!! You're only a couple of years older than me, right? Stop being such a workaholic!!"

Hitsugaya scowled as he pulled away from Karin, suddenly aware of the unusual feelings stirring inside him at her touch. He muttered loudly, "No! I could be over 100, I tell you!!"

Karin's scowl deepened. "Crap, Toushirou!! You're an old man!!!"

"I am not!" Toushirou blew up. He yelled out, anger evident in his voice. "I'm still really young in Soul Society terms!!"

Karin tightened her grip. "Then let's go, old man!"

Before Hitsugaya could snap back at her, she added, "Stop being such an un-fun grouch!!"

Hitsugaya grumbled but finally detached himself from the couch, letting Karin pull him away. Karin's grown disappeared and a happy grin replaced it.

They went outside to hand by the park. Hitsugaya couldn't help sneaking a look at Karin as they walked. She was relaxed, swinging her arms as she walked beside him. Her short black hair the same as it was always, ruffling a little in the cool breeze. For some reason, her happy smile made his heart race and heat rise up in his cheeks.

Hitsugaya started to panic inwardly. He fought hard against the pinkness spreading across his face. He didn't understand why it was only the presence of this young girl that could trigger such a reaction from within him. What the heck did it mean?

Hitsugaya had his permanent frown on his face as he tried to work it out, although he already knew. It was… shameful.

Karin suddenly stopped, frozen. Hitsugaya had been so lost in thought he almost bumped into her. He frowned deeper at her, wondering what was up and then feeling the familiar pressure around him, realized.

A Hollow!

The Hollow towered high above the both of them as it stormed towards the two people with extremely inviting spiritual pressure. As it attacked, Hitsugaya immediately took control. He took a gikongan and released his shinigami.

"Get out of the way, Karin!!" He shouted out.

Hitsugaya leapt into the air and attacked the Hollow. It was a weak Hollow, but he still felt the need to protect Karin. He swung the sword and easily and cleanly sliced through its mask and killed it.

When Hitsugaya got back into his gigai, Karin smiled earnestly and said enthusiastically, "Wow! Thanks for saving me, Toushirou!" The smile vanished as she muttered to herself softly, "Though I probably could have killed that one myself,"

"Yeah, whatever," he replied casually. But truthfully, he knew he would always protect her with everything he had.

"You surprise me sometimes," said Karin, as she started walking on ahead of him slowly, raising her hands to put them behind her head. "Even though you're such a crabby grouch and you're always scowling and grumbling, you always come and hang out with me. And you're always looking out for me. It's weird to think that someone like you would do all that for me, Toushirou," she grinned wickedly at him, "But you're heaps awesome!"

As Karin energetically ran off ahead of Hitsugaya, he gazed after her and with irritation felt his face heat up.

"_It's weird to think that someone like you would do all that for me, Toushirou!"! _

Hitsugaya grumbled as he stuck his hands into his pockets and walked on after the black-haired girl in front of him. _Do you think I would do all that for just anyone, Karin?? _

_You… _He felt his face tighten in a mixture of annoyance, care and pain. _You don't get it, do you?? _He shouted out furiously in his mind. _You don't get this at all, you don't understand why I do all this stuff just for you!!_

The snowy-haired shinigami captain's eyes darkened as he gazed at the girl in front of him.

_You stupid idiot!! You know why I always do what you say and why I'm always there to save you? Dammit, Karin!! I love you, you moron!! _

**Well… short starter chapter. This is gonna be a short fic, btw everyone. It should just be about four or five chappies long. And the bit about Hitsugaya's age, I made it up. I really don't know at all. Thanks for reading!! ^_^ Hope you enjoy this light-hearted hitsukarin comedy!! emichii**


	2. Guessing Game

**Don't own Bleach!!**

**Thanks for all your reviews, favourites and alerts, everyone!! Hope you enjoy chapter 2!! Read and review!! ^_^**

**Chapter Two: Guessing Game**

"Toushirou's been acting really weird around me lately." Karin said with a frown. She booted the soccer ball at her feet into a tree and watched it come right back towards her. Then the girl turned and looked up at the shinigami standing nearby. "Do you know what's up with him, Matsumoto?"

Matsumoto's eyes widened for a second and then she burst into a cheeky smile. "Oh!! _Thaaatt… _Gosh, Karin, don't tell me you don't know!! It's pretty obvious!!" Her voice rose and she sounded giddy like an excited child.

Karin rested her foot on the ball and pulled a confused face at the Tenth Company assistant captain. "What's pretty obvious? What's wrong with him?"

Matsumoto headed closer towards Karin and leant down so that her face was almost eye-level to hers. "Duh!! He's in love!!"

Matsumoto watched the young girl's eyes widen with surprise. She sounded incredulous, "What?? NO WAY!! Toushirou's in love??"

"Yep." Matsumoto looked slyly at Karin. "He's totally smitten."

"Wow." Karin said, her voice a mixture of disbelieving sarcasm and surprise. She returned to kicking the soccer ball at the tree.

"I mean, you've noticed it," Matsumoto said casually. "He's totally different when he's around you. He's been close to you for a while now but he's starting to react differently to you recently."

"Huh…" Karin muttered.

Matsumoto added, "He's completely head over heels."

"…Hm."

Karin was silent for a moment and then Matsumoto got the feeling that she was about to ask her for advice on what to do.

"Say, Matsumoto…" Karin murmured as she stopped the ball at her feet, and slowly looked up at her.

"Yes, Karin??" Matsumoto answered, hiding her smug smile.

"…So who's this person Toushirou's got the hots for anyway?" Karin asked, completely oblivious.

Matsumoto collapsed.

---

"Hey Toushirou…"

"Eh?" the snowy-haired captain raised his head and looked at her with his crystal blue-green eyes.

"You'll never guess what Matsumoto told me today!!" Karin said, grinning goofily like the child she was, bursting with an insane secret.

Hitsugaya was careful. He raised his eyebrows cautiously. "…yeah? What did she say?"

Karin didn't answer.

Hitsugaya panicked slightly but tried not to show it. His voice grew a little more urgent as he repeated, "What did she say?"

Karin sent him a wicked grin before replying.

He frowned and opened his mouth to speak. Before a word could come out of his mouth, Karin took a step away from him and dramatically pointed a finger at him, declaring: "You're in love, Toushirou!!"

It took a second for Hitsugaya to grasp what she meant. Immediately, his face began to burn, a pinkness spreading across his cheeks; and a kind of fury appeared in his eyes. He glared at her, "WHAT??"

Karin laughed wickedly, the mischief twinkling in her dark eyes.

Hitsugaya didn't know how to react. So, he had been annoyed that she hadn't noticed how he felt about her, but now that she knew of his feelings… how was he to respond? He felt embarrassment and shame. Especially now that she was laughing mockingly at him for it.

He felt an odd twinge inside. He glanced down confused. Was his… was his heart hurting right now?

His face tightened as he heard Karin's clear laughter. Damn. It hurt. Why did she have to laugh at him? Was it so hard to believe?

He considered this. He was, after all, the ice cold captain of Tenth Division. Rarely smiling, rarely revealing anything about himself; a distant, defensive person. And he had fallen for a simple human girl.

Thinking about it that way… yeah. It was hard to believe.

Karin's laughter which normally delighted him now got on his nerves. He turned to her, his eyes flashing with anger as he started, "What the hell is-?!"

Karin hadn't heard him. She went on and asked, "So who is it that you like so much anyway?"

He blinked at her. _Huh?? _

Karin frowned at him. "Toushirou? Who is it??"

He stared at her incredously. "What…" he started softly. He saw the blunt innocence in Karin's eyes and any hurt he had felt before changed into anger and frustration. He opened his mouth and finished the statement he had been meaning to say before.

"Wh…what the hell is wrong with your head, baka?!?"

---

"Well… what's she like?" Karin asked.

Hitsugaya paused before turning to gaze at the girl sitting beside him on the roof of Orihime's house. His eyes met hers for a second and then flickered down away from her. His heart beat a little faster as he muttered softly, "She… she has black hair…"

Karin frowned out at the darkening scenery around her. "Is she shorter than you or taller than you?"

Hitsugaya refused to look at her. "She's… around my height, I guess. Maybe a little shorter… yeah… she's short."

Karin was silent as she racked her brains. Then she said, "Ah! I know!!"

"What?" Hitsugaya said, slightly dreading her answer.

"It's Rukia, isn't it??" Karin declared.

"Huhh…?" was Hitsugaya's smart reply.

Karin counted off the requirements. "She has black hair and she's short! It's Rukia, isn't it?"

Hitsugaya sighed loudly to himself. Karin frowned at him. "I'm right, aren't I?"

She spoke to herself then, wondering: "But if it was Rukia, then… how would Ichi-nii react to that?"

Suddenly, she changed the topic and asked Hitsugaya, "Hey, does that Hinamori you always think about have black hair?"

"What?" Hitsugaya stared at her. His eyes were tensed now and hurt visible in them. The mention of Hinamori's name made his insides turn and pain attack his stomach. He didn't want to hear her name!! He didn't need to remember the girl who he did everything for and then was brutally rejected from.

"…so it is her then?" Karin noted the long painful silence.

Hitsugaya was silent, unable to correct her. She waited. Then he said, "No. It isn't her… not anymore."

Karin nodded thoughtfully. She sighed with annoyance as she stretched her legs out in front of her and ran a hand through her hair restlessly. They sat in silence for another moment and then she burst out, "This isn't fair, Toushirou!!"

Hitsugaya looked at her, cautiously. Had she found out??

"You know I don't know that many soul reapers in the first place! How am I meant to guess any black-haired, short, female shinigami??"

He was about to snap at her angrily and then understood why she thought it could only be a soul reaper. Hitsugaya couldn't stop the affection for her childish idea shining in his eyes. He gazed at her and said, "She's not a soul reaper. She's a human."

Karin opened her mouth in amazement. "No way!!" she cried skeptically. She blinked in disbelief a few times and then asked, "Is she around my age or is she an adult?"

"She's around your age. …You know her."

Karin frowned, still stunned by the impossibility of Hitsugaya falling for a human. She concentrated fiercely, trying to put together the snippets of information she had collected. "Is it Ururu? From Urahara Shoten?"

"No." Hitsugaya said bluntly.

Karin was seriously at a loss. But watching Hitsugaya, who was practically her best friend, sigh and gaze mournfully into the distance, she felt like she was meant to find out who it was.

Her eyebrows raised quizzically because she herself was doubtful about the guess, she half-heartedly guessed again. "Midoriko?"

Hitsugaya's long-tested patience today was definitely running out with Karin's ignorant stupidity. "No!" he snapped.

Karin was pissed too. "I don't know!!" She cried. "This is too hard!! Why can't you just tell me who it is already??"

"I can't tell you who it is!!" Hitsugaya cried back.

She frowned at him. "Why not?? You don't trust me or something?"

"No! I do trust you!" He breathed hard from his impatience and anger. "It's just…" the hardness in his eyes left and he said softly, "It's just not that easy…"

They sat there, thoughtfully; the two of them perched on top of Orihime's roof, gazing down at the beautifully bright streaks of colour the sunset displayed across the sky.

Hitsugaya was annoyed. Annoyed and frustrated with Karin's lack of progress and brains. Smirking with hidden anger at the black-haired girl sitting next to him that happened to be just shorter than him, he said, "Hey, Karin?"

"Yeah?"

"Tell you what else," The shinigami captain said through his forced smirk, "this girl I like… she's an idiot. She's really, _really _stupid."

Karin was surprised. "Is she? I can't imagine you having the patience to deal with someone as stupid as you say she is."

_You're right. I don't have the patience. _Hitsugaya thought, gritting his teeth.

"Would it be Matsumoto?" Karin asked. "You always say she's an idiot."

_Yes she is an idiot, but not anywhere near as idiotic as you are!!_

Hitsugaya was furious. "How could you even suggest that?? What part of _human_, _black-haired _and _shorter than me_ did you not get?!?"

"Forget this," Hitsugaya stood up huffily, preparing to leave. "Don't even bother guessing anymore."

Karin got to her feet. "Then are you gonna tell me?"

"No, I'm not!" He snapped.

"Awww… Toushirou!!" She whined as she followed him down the roof and watched him head towards Orihime's front door. "It's not fair!! You can't make me guess all day and then get angry and not tell me!!"

He turned at Orihime's doorstep and met her gaze. His blue-green eyes softened at the desperate cluelessness she held.

"I'm not going to tell you, Karin." he said, his voice slipping back into the calmness he always had.

Hitsugaya said one word before he turned again and went inside. He tried to hide the growing affection in his voice by sounding as normal as possible, but the awkwardness was still there.

"Baka."

**Thanks for reading!! I'm not sure if the end of that chapter turned out the way I wanted it to, but oh well. I hoped you liked it!! Please review!! ^_^ emichii**


	3. Distraction!

**Hey everybody!! Thanks for all your reviews! But lotsa people have been saying that Karin is too dumb and stupid in this fic. I'm sorry, okay?? Gimme (and her) a break!! She can't possibly imagine someone as awesome as Hitsugaya liking her!! Okay? Besides, I wanted to use the childish aspect of her in this fic, because in the last hitsukarin fic, she was really serious, so yeahh… **

**Anyway, here's chapter 3! Enjoy and review! ^_^**

**Chapter Three: Distraction!!**

"You know, Toushirou, you don't have to follow me."

Hitsugaya froze and his face heated up.

Karin turned to face the shinigami captain with a sceptical look on her face, one eyebrow raised quizzically. "If you wanna walk with me, then get down here instead of hopping from roof to roof up there."

Hitsugaya grumbled soundlessly to himself as he headed closer to the girl staring up at him. He balanced on the edge of the house roof and said, "I'm not in a gigai, you know. Won't people think it's weird if you're walking to school, talking to nobody?"

Karin could sense some people standing in the distance, watching her and whispering about how she was talking to the roof of a house. A smirk crossed her lips. "Doesn't matter. People already think I'm weird."

Hitsugaya sighed to himself and hopped down from the roof, landing lightly on his feet.

"Besides…" Karin said quietly, looking away as she continued on, "You're not 'nobody'."

Hitsugaya paused and stared at her. She went on, deliberately not looking at him.

---

"Hey!! Kurosaki!!"

Karin and Hitsugaya looked up as two of Karin's friends ran up to her. They ignored Hitsugaya, as they couldn't see him and started talking excitedly to Karin. Karin listened and then nodded, grinning.

The boy with the frizzy hair blushed furiously as she smiled, but only Hitsugaya noticed. He found himself frowning. The other boy pushed up his glasses said another couple of words and they had to run off to class.

Hitsugaya watched Karin as she walked into class. He waited outside for a moment, then took a leap and stood there, at the window of the second-storey classroom. While the teacher was calling the roll, he carefully slid open the window and propped himself there, sitting on the window frame.

Karin was sitting a desk away from the window. She looked bored as she pushed a pencil around the desk, faintly amused by the way it rolled around. Suddenly, it fell off the desk.

Hitsugaya smirked wickedly to himself. _Why not?_ He thought to himself. Annoy her a bit for being so stupid yesterday…

Karin reached over for the pencil and instead found Hitsugaya standing beside her desk, holding out the pencil in his palm. Karin gaped and then cried out, "Toushirou! What the heck??"

Hitsugaya pretended to pout. "Aw, is that all the thanks I get for helping you out?"

"Yeah," Karin said as she took the pencil off him with an incredulous expression on her face, "but why are you even here?"

Hitsugaya said nothing, for the class was now responding to Karin's strange behaviour.

"Kurosaki? Who are you talking to?"

"Kurosaki's always been strange, but now she's talking to herself."

"Ha! Maybe she's talking to her imaginary friend!"

Karin scowled angrily at Hitsugaya who looked at her innocently. "Don't bother me now, Toushirou!"

Hitsugaya smiled secretly to himself as he flash-stepped back to the window. Karin's scowling face was… cute.

---

"Are you serious, Karin? Seven times twelve isn't eighty-nine!" Hitsugaya said as he looked over Karin's shoulder at her work.

Karin flushed. "Shut up! So I made a mistake!!"

The sound of silence tearing across the classroom made Karin frown even harder. She gritted her teeth as the comments came flying again. From under her breath, she snapped at him: "Go away, Toushirou!! Stop distracting me!!"

Hitsugaya wandered back towards the window and sat there. He spent the rest of the lesson, watching her. And he knew that she was painfully aware of his presence too, because she couldn't relax while he was there. She found the burning desire to turn her head and look at him, but her pride and irritation kept her biting her lip and fiercely focused on the front and her desk.

As teacher opened her mouth to begin a long and boring lecture, Karin sighed and lowered her head. Dammit, she wanted so much to look at Toushirou. _Damn… it…!! _

While the teacher droned on, Karin found her ferocity dying down, and she carefully let herself sneak a quick glance at him.

He was staring straight back at her with amused blue-green eyes.

Karin shot a hideous glare at him, and turned to face the front again. But she turned again the exact same minute to watch him.

He pulled a face at her. It was a dull, bored face with rolling eyes.

She narrowed her eyes and stuck out her tongue.

"Teacher!! Karin's really lost it this time!! She's pulling faces at the window!"

---

Karin ate her lunch on the roof. It was silent, because she was the only one up there. The only human, anyway.

Hitsugaya stood in front of her, his arms crossed across his chest, bored but calm expression on his face, as always.

"Why were you even bothering me in class anyway?" Karin muttered between mouthfuls of food. "Aren't you normally slaving away at your paperwork?"

"You're the one who keeps complaining about me being a workaholic," retorted Hitsugaya. "I guess I just…" …_wanted to see you._

Hitsugaya trailed off and Karin was busy scarfing down the delicious food that Yuzu had prepared for her.

"Karin," he started, as he bent down to meet her gaze.

She looked up from her cross-legged position on the ground. "What?" she muttered, somewhat impatiently.

"You said that I was a distraction. Do I… really distract you that much?"

Karin suddenly felt her heart beat faster. She scowled and replied, "Yeah."

His voice dropped lower and softer and his gaze was serious. "Why?"

Maybe he had a lot riding on this question or something, but he watched her seriously. Karin looked confused as she pondered his strange question. "Why? Whaddaya mean 'why'?"

He kept watching her patiently.

"'cause... because…" she looked around uncomfortably, anywhere else but his piercing gaze. "You… Your…"

The frown that was often on her face appeared and she surprised him as she burst out, "Your friggin' old man hair!!" She reached out and messed up his snow-white hair. "Your white hair distracts me!!"

Hitsugaya wasn't sure which emotion he felt more. Disappointment or frustration or anger. "Don't touch my hair!" he said sharply, as he raised a hand to remove her hand from his head.

The sudden way their hands met made both of them freeze. Karin immediately pulled her hand back and looked away, frowning. Hitsugaya stared at the floor beneath his feet with the equal intensity of Karin.

Her childish awkwardness made Hitsugaya want to laugh. But it also made him want to cry when she was so stupid she couldn't even see that he was absolutely and completely in love with her! She was so cute and hilarious, even now when she was frowning and acting in her skeptical negative manner.

He snuck a glance at her, and felt his heart give a jump. Oh, bloody hell. All he wanted right now was to exclaim to her, declare out loud to her and everyone who might be around that he loved her. He just wanted so much to hold her in his arms and hug her to him. But he… his eyes tightened and his heart fell again. …He couldn't.

Karin suddenly had no appetite, even for the great lunch Yuzu had made her. She sighed quietly as she struggled to comprehend the unusual way her heart raced. She knew she was pissed off, she knew she was frustrated and annoyed, but what with? She was annoyed at Hitsugaya, but also… also at herself. For… for having these… she clenched her hands into fists as she glared at the ground. For having these… troubling thoughts.

She was suddenly aware of him sitting down cross-legged across from her. His calm face was the same as always, but his tone was slightly apologetic. He sighed lightly and said, "Okay, I'm sorry for bothering you in class."

She glanced up at him curiously and then offered a small smile.

They were quiet and then Karin broke the ice by saying cheekily, "So I was looking around my class today and I've decided that the only other short-ish black-haired humans I haven't already guess were all boys. And I'm pretty sure you don't like guys, Toushirou,"

Hitsugaya's jaw dropped and his face turned deathly white in horror.

"Anyway," the clueless girl continued, frowning as she concentrated, "…hey, come to think of it, Nakajima's relatively short."

Hitsugaya took a deep breath. He was seriously ready to explode. Anger and frustration had been building up inside him for the past two days, ever since Karin had questioned why he did so much for her. She was so stupid it made him want to scream!!

_Why?? _He caught her gaze and she looked confused. _Why, dammit, Karin?? Is it that friggin' hard to believe you could be the one I like so much? Unless you… _His blue-green eyes hardened as he considered: _Unless you really don't think of me like that at all… maybe you don't… see me like that at all. _

"Are you sure you're in love with a human girl, Toushirou?" Karin asked, "'cause I don't know who it could be."

"KARIN!" Hitsugaya suddenly burst out, shocking her.

"What?" she frowned.

"Listen to me, Karin!!" Hitsugaya cried, his eyes staring furiously at her and his hands grabbing her shoulders. "Will you bloody give up guessing already?? I'm telling you right now; the person I like is y-"

Karin was frozen. She was staring at him with widened eyes and fear evident all over her face.

Hitsugaya faltered. "…y-you…"

And just as he muttered that all-important word, he felt the ground-shaking tremor from behind him. He also froze as he heard the familiar growling sound.

Hitsugaya swore furiously under his breath, as he jumped to his feet and turned around to glare ferociously at the unwanted interruption. He was breathing hard, pain and heartfelt annoyance tearing through him as he threw Karin a desperate glance.

She got to her feet and he noticed the way she stood there, her hands shaking although they were clutched into angry fists.

The Hollow roared again. It was a large one, and it sent a huge gruesome-looking arm flying towards the school building. Hitsugaya drew his sword in a flash and sped towards the Hollow, raising his sword to attack.

The dust rose up from the school roof. Karin coughed lightly in the aftermath of the Hollow's attack and as the cloud cleared, saw the way the ceiling upon which she was standing was crumbled away at the side. She heard the screams of the children in their classrooms below and their footsteps as they began to evacuate the building.

Karin stepped back and headed towards the door to get back inside. She paused as she looked back to see Hitsugaya leaping up into the air, gritting his teeth and aiming for a shot at its mask.

_Crap. _She glared at him as she felt the horrible sinking feeling of uselessness. She couldn't do anything.

He dug the blade of his sword into the Hollow's mask, but turned his head to check on Karin, and it cost him. The Hollow swung its long arm and Hitsugaya was pushed back. The Hollow's arm came crashing down onto the school building and Karin just managed to evade getting crushed.

Karin breathed hard as she stood there, scowling. She felt so useless and now she was distracting Hitsugaya too! He might get hurt! She looked around for an alternative way to get off the school building. The school wasn't that tall, it was only two-storeys and standing there on the roof, she spied a tall tree stretching its branches up high enough for her to glimpse.

Hitsugaya gasped as he flew up once again, cursing himself for being distracted by Karin. But… he cared about her. And he needed to know that she was okay. After all, she had no way of defending herself.

He was angry.

He was so friggin' angry. Why couldn't he just let her know? Why did this stinking Hollow have to interrupt, just when he was brave and frustrated enough to tell her who it was? Why, dammit, why??

Karin took a sprint towards the edge of the roof. Just as her foot hit the edge of the concrete, she threw all her strength and athletic ability at the tree.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, KARIN?? COMMITING SUICIDE?!?" Hitsugaya suddenly screamed from above her.

In his panic, without thinking, he swung the sword and cut the mask into pieces. Then he used shun-po and sped towards Karin with his arms stretched out in front of him, struggling to catch her as she fell.

"HELL NO, TOUSHIROU!! I'm not that stupid!" Karin reached the treetop and grabbed onto a branch, her feet landing lightly on another branch underneath her. She was shaken, but safe.

She took a cautious leap from the branch towards the ground and Hitsugaya arrived in time to catch her. The snowy-white haired captain caught her in his arms and gently set foot on the ground.

Karin stepped away from him and watched both him and the events in the background behind him. The school was in chaos and students were running around, panicking. The teachers were staring in awe at the damage the Hollow had left behind.

Hitsugaya sighed heavily.

Karin also sighed and then she gave Hitsugaya the brightest grin he'd seen yet. It totally melted his insides and he stared at her, entranced. His eyes hardened, with both love and hurt as she smiled.

His blue-green eyes settled on her brown ones as he wondered. Had she heard what he had said before?

He froze as she reached out, and not saying anything grabbed his hand in hers.

_What does this mean?? _His heart beat fast.

"C'mon, Toushirou!!" Karin shouted as she pulled him behind her and made a break for it.

"Huh??" He pulled a face of puzzlement.

"Let's make a run for it and ditch school while they're all wondering what happened!!"

"Ahh…" he fell into a forced smile as he ran with her, disappointed. But… he looked away as his face blushed furiously. He gently tightened his grip on her hand.

Even so…

Even though she still didn't see it, even though she didn't understand it at all…

It didn't matter…

For now anyway, he was okay with just being beside her like this.

Karin glanced at Hitsugaya and grinned wickedly. "What's wrong with you, Toushirou?? Are you blushing??"

Hitsugaya scowled and snapped: "I AM NOT BLUSHING!!"

**To be continued in chapter four!! ^_^ That was quite a long chappie… I'm not sure about what happened. You see, I never planned this chapter, I just threw it in because the events that happened last chappie and the ones that will happen next were too unrelated. So… I had to fill something in. Hope you liked it! Review please!! ^_^ **


	4. The Truth

**Hiya all!! Thanks for all your comments and reviews! They make me so happy!! ^_^ Well, you should all know that this fanfic was planned to be a short one. So here we go, chapter 4- the second-last chappie of ****Moron****!! **

**Enjoy!! Don't forget to review!! **

**Chapter Four: The Truth… **

"Hey… hey, Karin?"

Ichigo scowled at Karin's closed bedroom door and then went on, and opened it, pushing the door open with a bang.

Karin looked shocked as she stared at her brother. She growled with annoyance. "Whatever happened to knocking?"

Ichigo shrugged as he stood in the doorway. "Yeah, yeah." His face turned apologetic for a moment as he asked, "Do you and Yuzu mind going down to Urahara Shoten for me today?"

Karin stared at him. "It's the _weekend_, Ichi-nii!! Why can't you do it?"

Ichigo retorted: "I've got to finish this friggin' assignment that was meant to be handed in yesterday, but I didn't get to even start it 'cause I've been busy killing Hollows!!"

Karin sighed and Ichigo lightly tossed her a piece of paper before turning to leave. "Just do me a favour and get this stuff for me and Rukia, all right?"

Karin kept her complaints to herself as she grumpily kicked her soccer ball into a corner of her room and headed downstairs to find Yuzu.

---

Jinta Hanakari was pacing back and forth in front of Urahara's shop, brandishing a broom, supposedly sweeping up. Beside him, Ururu was wondering at his funny behaviour.

"Jinta, why aren't you sweeping?" she pointed at the untidy leaves all over the ground.

Jinta scowled. "DUH, stupid cockroach-head!! I have to leave it so that I look like I'm busy when Kurosaki comes over!"

Ururu thought of the girl Jinta was talking about. "Wow, Jinta, you really like Kurosaki-san, don't you?"

Jinta hid his blush and began to sweep at invisible leaves. "Aw, shut up, dumbass!! So she hasn't come over in a couple of days, that's why I wanna be sure to see her when she comes!"

Hitsugaya was sitting on the roof of the shop for unknown reasons and his crystal blue-green eyes hardened at the conversation he had overheard.

---

Karin looked like she was going to a funeral as she arrived at the shop. It wasn't like she had anything particularly against it; Urahara and the shop were just plain weird. And although she and Jinta were actually pretty good friends; they both did a great job at arguing and acting like real enemies.

Jinta felt a tremor of excitement as he heard the footsteps draw closer. His heart began to race as he waited for his expected guest.

Karin stomped over to Jinta and the two equally unmannered kids glared at each other.

Jinta spoke. "Oh. It's you, Karin."

Karin blinked and then her mouth curved into a smirk. "Disappointed, Jinta? Who were ya expecting?"

"…no-one." He muttered.

Karin pulled a face, as she retrieved the slip of paper from her pocket. "Eh. I got some orders to fill for Ichi-nii, Jinta."

The two walked into the store together, talking between themselves and Hitsugaya watched, unseen. He was in his gigai, but unnoticed as he stood carefully away from anyone's line of sight. He found himself gritting his teeth as he watched the two.

Hitsugaya breathed in and out deeply and shook his head. Crap, this was ridiculous. Yet he continued glaring ferociously at the back of the red-haired kid who couldn't even see him. He was jealous!!

He carefully considered the idea in his head. Well, it wasn't like the two of them were going out or anything, but they were obviously closer than they seemed, despite the constant bickering and scowling at each other.

He was pained and annoyed, and it wasn't even like he had a real reason to be. Gahh!! Hitsugaya growled at himself as he crossed his arms, angry.

He had overheard Jinta and Ururu before and now worried thoughts crossed his mind. Crap, if Jinta also liked Karin, then he'd be in a bit of trouble. He liked Karin himself, and he… obviously he wanted her to himself. He couldn't… couldn't stand the thought of Jinta being with her and he found himself bristling with envy.

Hitsugaya felt his shoulders droop as he thought with disappointment at his attempt to reveal his feelings to Karin yesterday and how miserably it had turned out. He glanced worriedly at Urahara Shoten, and sighed lightly. Dammit, he couldn't let this go on much longer! He had to tell her, and get to her fast!

He couldn't stop the contempt in his eyes as he headed towards the door. Man, if Jinta dares to make a move before he does…

---

Karin was in another room with Ururu, searching for a Chappy gikongan thing while Jinta waited in the main room of the store. He sighed to himself, very much like a kid in love as he looked forlornly up at the clock on the wall and then gazed out the front door of the shop wistfully.

Somewhat disappointed, he headed to the large double doors and slid them shut. He turned around and almost fainted.

A soul reaper captain was standing there with the most furious glare Jinta had ever seen. Jinta swore he could see hate waves or something similar floating from Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya glared at him with his icy cold eyes, "Hanakari…" he started.

Jinta was freaked out. "C-Captain Hitsugaya?"

"I heard you talking about Kurosaki before…" his voice was stern and dripping with contempt.

"Yeah?" Jinta murmured, "What about it?"

Hitsugaya fumed as his face began to burn bright red with embarrassment. He had to tear his eyes away from Jinta as he muttered self-consciously at the floor: "You and Karin…"

Jinta's face changed from fear and confusion to something like amusement. "What are you talking about…?"

Hitsugaya snapped as he lost to childish jealousy. He stepped up to Jinta and practically grabbed him by the collar. "What's going on between you and Karin?? Dammit, tell me you're not interested in her, because I won't friggin' let you lay a finger on her!!"

Jinta blinked in confusion a couple of times and then to Hitsugaya's horror, let out a snort of laughter. He stepped back from the humiliated captain and cracked up into chortles of laughter.

Accompanying Jinta's laughing were footsteps coming down the hallway. Karin and Ururu appeared, their eyes both wide open.

"Huh? Toushirou??" Karin wondered.

Hitsugaya didn't know whether to look sheepish or cry and run off.

Jinta turned and caught Karin's eye and then turned back to Hitsugaya, shrugging his shoulders and with a look of disbelief on his face. "Look, there's nothing going on between me and Karin, okay?"

He paused and then added slyly, "What, Captain Hitsugaya? Are you _jealous_ or something??"

Hitsugaya was so embarrassed. And Karin was standing there, staring at him wide-eyed, completely confused. Dammit!! He had to be cool and composed, right? So how had this bratty red-haired kid gotten the best of him?? ARGH!!

"Toushi-" Karin started and was promptly interrupted by a knock on the door.

Everyone turned to watch as Jinta slid open the door and was greeted by his goddess.

Yuzu Kurosaki stood on the doorstep, beaming her beautiful smile. Jinta stared gobsmacked at her, frozen.

"Good afternoon, Hanakari! I was meant to come here with Karin, but I was busy so I had to come a bit later," Yuzu smiled.

"Oh… K-Kurosaki… hi…" Jinta stuttered, his face blushing deep pink.

The other three watched as Jinta immediately became a blithering idiot in the presence of Yuzu.

Hitsugaya couldn't believe how stupid he had been!! Jinta was obviously crazy about _this _Kurosaki girl! It hadn't been Karin! He glanced quickly at her and was unsure whether he was more relieved or embarrassed about his misunderstanding.

"So, Toushirou," Karin asked as she headed towards Hitsugaya. Her tone was puzzled as she wondered, "Why are you here?"

Seeing her cluelessness and Jinta's stupidity in front of Yuzu made Hitsugaya screw up his face in irritation. He was so embarrassed and his face burned. He looked at Karin and then turned to leave. "F-Forget it!!"

He rushed past the awkwardly flustered Jinta and Yuzu standing in the doorway, and quickly disappeared outside.

Karin stood there, completely confused. And Ururu, standing beside her also had no idea what had happened.

---

_Man, Toushirou, why did you just run off like that today? _Karin grumbled as she absent-mindedly kicked the ball at her feet while sitting down on her bed.

It was late and the sky outside was darkening as Karin sighed, playing around with her soccer ball.

Sighing, she flopped down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. _Wonder what had Toushirou so flustered? _

She thought of Ururu standing beside her and then the short, black-haired human girl Hitsugaya liked. But… it wasn't her, was it?

Karin frowned as she settled down deeper into her bed, swinging her legs up into the air and looking at her feet against the ceiling high above it.

"_She… she has black hair…"_

Karin absently scratched her head as she thought, loose strands of her short black hair falling down over her face.

"_She's not a soul reaper. She's a human."_

Karin thought hard. She tried to remember the things he had said, as well as the things others had said.

"_Oh!! Thaaatt… Gosh, Karin, don't tell me you don't know!! It's pretty obvious!!"_

What was so obvious? Karin frowned.

"_You said that I was a distraction. Do I… really distract you that much?" _She recalled his insistent face, the way his voice was soft and gentle. She pictured the way his normally piercing cold eyes watched her.

She froze for a second.

"_Look, there's nothing going on between me and Karin, okay? …What, Captain Hitsugaya? Are you jealous or something??" _

"_Are you… jealous or something?" _Karin blinked as her mind suddenly kicked into action, bringing in bits and pieces of evidence.

"_So who is it that you like so much anyway?" _

"_Wh…what the hell is wrong with your head, baka?!?" _

His face then had been uncomfortable and embarrassed, somehow similar to Jinta when he was stuttering around Yuzu.

"_He's completely head over heels."_

"_Listen to me, Karin!! Will you bloody give up guessing already?? I'm telling you right now; the person I like is y-"_

"_Tell you what else, this girl I like… she's an idiot. She's really, really stupid."_

Karin was startled. Her eyes opened wide and she sat up straight as she put together the pieces, her heart beating crazily out of control.

"_Baka." _

Hitsugaya's face then, as he gazed at her; his face a mixture of frustration and… and… endearment?

"_How could you even suggest that?? What part of human, black-haired and shorter than me did you not get?!?"_

She suddenly lowered her face to the ground, seeing the way her short black hair fell forward, knowing full well her height and knowing just how human she was.

"_She's really, really stupid."_

Karin realized that her hands were clenched tightly into fists as she stared wide-eyed in realization.

That time yesterday, what he had been trying to say before they were interrupted…

"_I'm telling you right now; the person I like is y-"_

…_You. _

Karin's face was pale and she didn't understand at all what was going on inside her, the way her heart was beating faster and faster. And what was this? Was her face… heating up?

"T-Toushirou…" she muttered to herself. "No way…"

"_Baka." _

"It's me?!?"

**Heh. To be continued!! Next chapter will be the last one! Please review everybody!! emichii! ^_^ **


	5. Moron!

**I don't own Bleach, dammit!! _ Well… hi everyone. I can't believe Moron! Is ending so soon!! I'm eternally grateful to you all, thanks for all your never-ending support and reviews! There's no way I would've ever gotten this far writing hitsukarin without you guys!! ^_^ **

**Here's the last chapter- chapter five!! I hope you enjoy!! Read and review! **

**Chapter Five: Moron!! **

There was a frown on Karin's face, but it wasn't her normal stubborn negative facial expression. Her eyes were dark and her eyebrows crinkled over them carefully, as though she had suddenly matured overnight.

She was so deep in thought that she walked on and almost didn't see Hitsugaya as she wandered through the park. Hitsugaya hadn't seen her since yesterday, and that was when he had run off, completely humiliated.

Hitsugaya blinked in confusion and amusement at the girl moving around like a zombie. He took a few steps after her, calling out, "Hey! Karin!"

Karin had barely gotten any sleep last night because she had been so confused and shocked. When she had finally drifted off, it was a restless, dreamless sleep- a daze that she was in, as though she was just lying there awake but with her eyes closed.

Karin paused as she turned to look at the Tenth Division Captain. She felt her heart cringe as she met his gaze. The frown on her face didn't leave, it only deepened.

There was no way, there was absolutely no way, she continually chimed in her head.

Her heart beat out of control as she watched him. _No way… _

Just watching him now… she was so totally in awe of him. So perfectly calm and in control, his snowy white hair in its usual style, cold icy-blue green eyes piercing through hers. He was in his gigai and so wasn't in his shihakusho, but whether he wore his uniform and haori, she knew just how powerful he was. She knew just how high-ranking and incredible Toushirou Hitsugaya was.

So…

The pain in her heart became evident on her face.

So how could someone like him possibly fall for a simple human schoolgirl like her?

"Oi, Karin!"

She blinked in surprise.

Hitsugaya was standing in front of her, his icy eyes puzzled as he commented, "Gee, Karin, you're so out of it today. What on earth happened to you?"

He was just standing there, right in front of her and it wasn't like he hadn't done this before; but suddenly his closeness there made Karin feel awkward.

"T-Toushirou," she began, struggling to find her voice and pull her confused self together.

"Yeah?" Hitsugaya looked at her, his voice friendly.

"Y-you…" she started, but couldn't continue. Her face flushed bright red and Hitsugaya looked at her worriedly.

Karin grew frustrated. Dammit, how hard could it possibly be to tell him??

…_you… you're in love with me?!?_

"Yeah? What is it?" Hitsugaya asked, a frown appearing on his face.

Karin swallowed and composed herself. Her face was burning up as she glared down at the ground and tried again:

"Y-you… Toushirou, you…"

She glimpsed Hitsugaya watching her with wide blue-green eyes and then her words completely failed.

"…you ran away from me yesterday when I saw you at Urahara's! What the heck was that about??" She snapped at him.

Hitsugaya looked at Karin's annoyed face and felt his insides turn. _Oh crap. _He couldn't hide it much longer. It wasn't even like he was trying to hide it; he just wanted to get it out there. She didn't even know how long he'd been struggling with these feelings, she didn't have a clue who it was that he liked, she had no idea…!!

"I… I just…" Hitsugaya frowned mid-sentence. "I just… got annoyed at Hanakari for something incredibly trivial."

Karin asked, apparently completely innocently, "Oh yeah? I overheard Jinta asking you if you were jealous or something? What were you jealous of?"

She watched as the expression in his eyes changed. Pained endearment seem to flash in his eyes as he seemed to stiffen his shoulders and then sigh deeply.

Hitsugaya settled stern eyes on her and said, "Listen, Karin. What I'm about to tell you is what I've been trying to get across to you for the past week or so. What… Hanakari meant, what Matsumoto mentioned to you before, and the person that you've been trying to guess…"

Karin, who had been so shocked by her discovery last night, suddenly found her hands clenched into fists and her teeth gritted. Why? She had been so pissed off at the way she reacted to him today, she had been in such disbelief with her realization before, so why…? Why was she tightening her fists now? Why was she hoping with such hope that she was right? Why did she _want _to be right, when she knew he was too incredible for her?

"Karin…" He forced himself to gaze at her and let his icy eyes stare at her truthfully. "The person I've fallen for… the one I love… "

"I know who it is."

Her voice was dull and unsurprised.

"What?" Hitsugaya exclaimed. "Dammit, Karin, just listen! It's-"

Karin kept her face still and hard as she practically glared at Hitsugaya. Her voice was not loud, still blank and measured.

"Me."

"-you."

She was having trouble keeping her face like this. She was trying to keep herself stern and expressionless. But she persevered, and Karin's dark eyes seemed slightly pained as they fiercely met Hitsugaya's icy ones.

He didn't know what to say. He was really… completely and utterly… lost.

What… what was he meant to do now? He had not anticipated this at all, he didn't expect for her to have guessed this or realized it.

What happens now? Did he… have to discuss with her what would become of their friendship now that they both knew this? Could he… could he shrug and grumble at her that she sure took her time figuring it out and then just casually stroll away? Could he… pretend that once it was known, it didn't matter anymore?

But… They stood there and searched each other's eyes for what seemed like forever.

But could she possibly understand the full extent of his love for her? Hitsugaya bit his lip. He really… really, truly, deeply loved her. He couldn't just let it go like this.

What… was this feeling inside her right now? Karin didn't understand it. Okay, that was enough. She did understand it!! She understood it fully, all right? She knew why she had worked so hard trying to find out who Hitsugaya liked!! She knew exactly why her heart beat out of control whenever he stared at her with even a glimmer of care in his eyes. She knew fully well why she was in such shock, why her heart panged when she realized last night.

Hitsugaya was watching her, and before either of them knew what was happening; he felt the love he had kept to himself all this time explode from within him and he was reaching out and grabbing her hand, pulling her towards her and planting a gentle kiss on her lips.

---

Their lips had met in confusion and Karin was the first to pull away. She paused there, standing away from him; his hand was still holding hers. Her eyes were wide open and her face burning as she stared gobsmacked at the shinigami captain.

Her heart which had not stopped pumping unusually fast all morning sped up even more. She was at a complete lost for words, and so was he. She breathed shallowly in her inner turmoil and pulling her hand lightly away from his, spoke: "I… Toushirou, I don't know… what should I do?"

Hitsugaya didn't know what to say or what to do next. This awkwardness between them… what were they to do now?

"_It's-"_

"_Me."_

"_-you."_

Karin stiffened as her eyes hardened and her heart cringed again. Meeting his icy cool, though confused gaze was harder than ever. And then, she did the thing she thought she would never do.

She ran. She turned and ran from him.

---

He considered chasing after her, but realized that he knew her too well for that. What she needed was time, time alone to process her thoughts. The time seemed to drag on throughout the day, his thoughts were filled of her and as he watched the day grow old, he wondered whether she had come to terms with their situation.

It became afternoon, the sky bright orange, streaks of pink and red stretched across its endless area.

Hitsugaya made his move. He knew exactly where to find her.

---

Karin sat on the railing beside the road, looking over at the town of Karakura, seeing the way the sky stretched endlessly before her. She was solemn, as serious as she could ever be, sitting there and staring out in front of her.

_How… how can I possibly explain to you how I feel? How can I tell you… why this makes me so shaky and uncomfortable? You… realize why it was so hard for me to guess, right? You know why I couldn't respond to that kiss…_

She heard the footsteps interrupt the fast rate of her heart-beat. She didn't need to raise her head or turn to face him to know who it was.

She continued staring out across the scenery. The footsteps gradually grew louder and stopped behind her.

Hitsugaya stood there, looking out into the beautiful sky over her head. Karin felt herself tense as she pulled her head down and stared at her feet.

"…I'm sorry."

Hitsugaya blinked. "What? Why are you apologising? I was the one who forced that kiss on you!"

"I… I had given myself all of last night to understand it, but I still had to run from you today. I must've… made you feel bad."

"No, it's okay. I understand. Guess it… makes us even for yesterday."

He stood there, his voice casual and calm as always, hiding his nervous energy and anticipation.

Karin's shoulders slumped down as she relaxed. She smiled as she said, "Do you know why it took me so long to figure out who it was you liked so much?"

Hitsugaya's face heated up slightly. He was careful as he replied, "No."

"It's not like… I was ever as stupid as you made it seem. Yeah, the idea of you falling for a human girl of all things was hard to believe but… it wasn't like I hadn't considered it could be me. I had… asked myself that before. I had… wondered if someone like you could ever like someone like me… it's just that I decided it was impossible."

_Impossible? _Hitsugaya frowned.

"Even now… after all this time, I find it so hard to believe…! I mean…" Karin turned to smile awkwardly at the captain. "How could someone like you… someone so icy cold and cool in everything he does… someone as powerful as you are- a soul reaper captain! How could you ever like me? I'm just so… simple. Just a kid. Just a human girl…"

Hitsugaya's eyes lowered as he sighed lightly. _I know. But even so, I… _

"But even so you…"

_I love you for who you are. I love you because you are Karin._

Karin didn't finish her sentence, just left it trailing off there. Then she beamed at Hitsugaya. "I… But you made me so happy because you do like someone like me!!"

Her smile made Hitsugaya's heart swell. He stared at her, entranced in her words.

"And I… I'm still having so much trouble accepting this because… 'cause my small human heart is bursting just trying to take it all in!! 'cause, Toushirou, I really…"

She paused, tearing her gaze from his, glancing down at the ground for a moment, gathering her courage to continue.

Karin raised her head and although blushing, grinned her absolute hardest at Hitsugaya.

"…I really love you too!"

Hitsugaya just stared at her, awestruck, eyes wide. And then the love he had for her burst out again, he pulled her up from her sitting position and into his arms.

Karin stammered over her words, flustered and embarrassed. "G-gee, Toushirou! D-don't just do that! I… I could've fallen over!"

He didn't reply. He tightened his hold on her until she slowly returned his embrace. "You know what, Karin?" he murmured quietly over her shoulder.

"What?" Karin was puzzled.

"Working this all out. You sure took your time…"

Karin was silent as she frowned.

Hitsugaya smiled to himself as he gently touched his forehead to hers.

"…Moron."

**The End!**

**Oh yeah, ya heard right!! It's the end!! So SCRAM!! Nah, just joking! emichii's hitsukarin fics aren't over! I promise there'll be more to come! I don't know if there'll be any more fics this year though, because I'm off to HK soon! Still, thanks once again for all your support, everyone!! HITSUKARIN FOREVER 'N EVER!! ^_^ **

**I hope to see ya again soon! emichii! **


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